This Hadas Ilani ‘Needle and Thread' Footwear is Organic

Hadas Ilani’s ‘Needle and Thread Shoes’ shoes may be a little prickly for some, but most people would be hard pressed to say this footwear isn’t environmentally conscious.

Hadas Ilani is a student at the Belzalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem, Israel. The school will be presenting the work of 45 of its students in an exhibition in April during the Milan Salone Internazionale del Mobile, in Milane. Hadas Ilani’s pine needle shoes are among the works being showcased.

The shoes are made almost entirely from pine needles; the only component that is not made from such material are the threads which bind the shoe together. The aesthetic that results from these materials and this technique is spindly and wispy. These are not two words regularly associated with comfort, however, that is not the point.

The shoes are not meant to be worn and walked around in, of course. Still, Hadas Ilani’s did not weave this footwear simply for the sake of novelty. His creations provoke their viewer to investigate the degree of separation between our clothing and the raw materials used to create this apparel.